Anacortes Whale Watch

Highlights

Humpback whales (BCZ0575 Chi and juvenile lunge feeding!)
Steller sea lions
Harbor seals
Bald eagles

May 30, 2026 | 1 PM Whale Watch

It was humpback central today! With some residual wind and waves coming in from the south after yesterdays high winds in the strait of Juan de Fuca, we decided to cruise north along the eastern side of Guemes Island. Here, it was nothing but calm waters and warm sunshine. It didn't take long for captain Carl to spot the first wildlife of the day, a mated pair of bald eagles perched high in the tree tops of the Guemes Island shoreline. While one eagle perched high in one of the tallest trees scouting for food, the other tucked itself into a large stick nest about a hundred yards away. Far below and resting on the rocks just above the water, two harbor seals hauled out snoozing. Such a tranquil scene.

Continuing north, we came across a juvenile humpback whale circling between Vendovi and Sinclair Island and got to see several beautiful sounding dives. Sharing space in this area were several common murres and rhinoceros auklets, most likely going after baitfish that was on the menu for our whales as well.

Rounding up the corner to the top of Sinclair, we came across an incredibly rowdy group of Steller sea lions squeezing onto a navigation marker. We witnessed quite the chorus of growls and grunts which we translated to, "scoot over!" "no YOU scoot over!" (Spare room on this particular marker was scarce.) Circling back to the south, we found a second humpback-- a much larger individual. It turned out to be BCZ0575 Chi. Chi was born in 2021 and introduced to the Salish Sea by his mother, the famous CRC15970 Zephyr. He's been returning ever since and we love seeing him in the islands. We hung out with Chi for a few beautiful surfacings and an absolutely stunning sounding dive before meeting back up with our juvenile humpback from earlier in the day.

This little whale was now getting into some trouble, traveling literally directly against the shoreline of Lummi Island. At certain points, this whale was in only about 30 feet of water, and we could see plumes of mud in his fluke prints. This encounter was a true testament to this species' spatial awareness. We also got to see some absolutely fantastic lunge feeding behavior right at the surface. Such a treat! Cruising back home, we recapped the day soaked in the last of the beautiful island views. It was such a stunning afternoon!

- Amy